Entries from Expedition Dispatches
We had a relatively uneventful rest day at
Aconcagua Camp 1. While base camp offered pizzas, cook tents, and showers, folks spent the day at Camp 1 napping, catching up on journals, listening to music, and chatting. There were clouds in the Vacas Valley this morning, which we watched push up towards us, with the upper reaches just brushing our camp, before they would push back down valley again. Watching the curling cloud forms provided some entertainment as well. Our leisurely day should have us prepared to pack camp tomorrow morning to head up to Camp 2 at 18,000 feet. Once there, we will start the process of acclimating over again, and we will be one step closer to our summit push. Though we haven't been here that long, everyone is excited for the next step and a new home for a few days.
Hasta mañana,
RMI Guide
Pete Van Deventer,
Alex Barber, Juampi, and team
Well, we made it back to Basecamp. Big loads and tired feet made for a tough day but we were greeted at Basecamp last night by a spread of snacks and cold drinks, but more importantly, hugs and congratulations from Anita and Grizzelda the Basecamp managers. We dined on steaks and real salad and vegetables which were absolutely delicious after over a week of mountain food. This morning we woke up had a quick breakfast before readying the mule loads and are now about to hit the dusty trail for
Pampa de Leñas. The herrieros will be preparing a traditional asado there for us tonight but I anticipate that we´ll be out of touch for the evening because it´s hard for the satellite phone to stay connected down there. The canyon walls are just too narrow. The long march home continues...
RMI Guide Billy Nugent & Team
We made it today, despite the cold, wind, and snow!
RMI Guide
Casey Grom & Team
Hi from 13,000' on
Kilimanjaro!
Today was a long day on the trail for the team but we did great. It was a little chilly when we woke up at Shira Camp with ice on the ground and some frost. After the sun came up we started to warm up and after the first hour of hiking everyone was in one or two layers of clothing only. We spent about 4 hours getting to our high point at 15,000' and by the time we reached it the skies has clouded over. No rain or anything for us but it was a bit chilly. It's warmer down here at camp but the clouds are still in and out. Everyone is feeling just fine and we are all looking forward to heading out again in the morning.
RMI Guide
Seth Waterfall & Team
On The Map
This is RMI's last expedition of the
Aconcagua season. Our team enjoyed a scenic drive through the Andes and arrived in the rustic ski town of Los Penitentes. Our team rallied and got bags packed for the mules. Everyone is excited to hit the trail when we begin the trek to Base Camp tomorrow.
RMI Guide Mike King
Another day, another step in the uphill direction. We continued on yesterday's momentum, woke with the sun, sorted loads, and pointed our boots uphill to Guanacos Tres, or our
Camp 2. It's not a huge day, only 1,600' of elevation gain, but it's great for our acclimatization process, and now we have the bulk of our food and fuel up high. This year is a bit bizarre in that this is traditionally high season and the mountain is very empty. We are the only team in Camp 1, and there is one other small team at Camp 2, which makes for a much more remote feeling to the expedition.
Some clouds blew over this afternoon, with a few flurries, but our weather remains spectacular overall. We're looking forward to a rest day tomorrow, and then hopefully on up to Camp 2.
Hasta luego,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Alex Barber, Juan, and team
On The Map
Hola Amigos!
Things are good here in Ecuador and the team is well rested after two nights at the wonderful Chilcabamba Lodge. Everyone is excited for tonight's climb on
Cotopaxi.
Today we bumped up to another Lodge that is nestled in right below Cotopaxi itself. Normally we stay at the Refugio on the mountain, but it is currently under renovation so we'll be climbing from here. We have done this on the last few climbs and it has worked out well for the past teams and I expect the same for us.
Tonight our plan is to have dinner around 4:30 then head right to bed. We'll wake at 10pm and have a sit down breakfast and then hit the road around 11pm. We'll drive our bus to the base of the mountain and start our climb close to midnight. Based on how well everyone did on
Cayambe, I'm guessing it's going to take us somewhere around six to eight hours to reach the summit.
The weather has been improving each day and we have our fingers crossed it will continue for one more day. We'll check back in tomorrow hopefully with good news.
Wish us luck!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Hi from Kilimanjaro! Everyone is up at our second camp,
Shira Plateau. We were on the move just after 8:00 this morning and spent about five hours on the trail. We gained over 2,300' from our last camp so that puts us over 12,000' above sea level. The altitude hasn't effected anyone's appetite just yet, we all wolfed down lunch here at camp. Our plan from the afternoon is to rest and hydrate up for tomorrow's big push to the Lava Tower at 15,000'.
That's all I have for now.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
On The Map
Rest day at the beautiful Chilcabamba Eco Lodge! Our team enjoyed the opportunity to sleep in and relax, and prepare for
Cotopaxi, our next objective for this trip.
After a delightful breakfast, we were able to catch a few glimpses of the mountain in the distance and talked about the route. Based on the team's performance on
Cayambe, we'll have no problem with this next climb!
We spent the day reading books and sharing stories, and wrapped the evening up with a technical skills session. We learned a variety of knots, talked about climbing anchors, and finished with a full-blown crevasse rescue scenario in the lawn.
Spirits are high and we are ready to go! Tomorrow we move on to the Tambopaxi Lodge in preparation for our summit bid on
Cotopaxi.
Until then,
RMI Guide Nick Hunt and the Ecuador team
Today we moved to Camp 1 under perfect weather. The team made great time moving to Camp 1 and are handling the altitude well. Shortly after arriving we exchanged high-fives with
Billy Nugent's team. They made the summit of
Aconcagua the day prior. We're all settled into camp now and enjoying hot drinks. Having left the comforts of base camp, we've had some lively discussions about the toilet situation, etc. Tomorrow we will carry to Camp 2, as we continue to take advantage of this good weather and push higher.
RMI Guide Alex Barber
On The Map
Great picture btw.
Bruce, Excited at the progress and am rooting for you and the team. Stay strong and move on up! xo
Posted by: Joyce Pully on 1/30/2015 at 3:53 am
Getting excited for the team as you take those next steps toward the summit. Good luck to you.
Posted by: Joyce Pully on 1/30/2015 at 3:32 am
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